Most SaaS businesses leverage the cloud to manage and store their data, applications, and workloads. With appropriate cloud security measures, SaaS businesses can ensure device and user authentication, resource and data access control, and privacy. 

This can help protect cloud-based infrastructure from malware, unauthorized access, and cyberattacks.

What’s shocking is, a recent survey by Oracle revealed that 92% of the respondent firms face a cloud security readiness gap.

No wonder cloud data breaches are becoming prevalent. 

The recent incident where cybercriminals attacked the renowned SaaS provider Accenture and stole six terabytes of customer data is proof of it. 

Such incidents can lead to massive financial losses and put a brand’s image at stake. So, SaaS brands must ensure complete cloud security. 

In this post, we will share a five-step checklist for SaaS businesses to enhance cloud security.

No. 1: Secure Your Cyber Assets 

The rapid adoption of cloud platforms has helped SaaS brands enhance their team’s working experience, accelerate product innovations, and successfully run new business initiatives.

Here’s how: The cloud-based operations support a flexible work model, which allows the team to work from anywhere, using personal devices. 

While this practice has proven effective in multiplying a firm’s productivity, it comes with a dire cost. 

Confidential resources are no longer confined to the four walls of the firm. This may create a lack of complete visibility into data and vital assets, making organizations vulnerable to cyber threats.

In such instances, deploying cyber asset attack surface management (CAASM) software can help.

If you are wondering what CAASM is, it is a state-of-the-art technology solution that helps businesses detect and uncover vulnerabilities in all the cloud assets connected to their networks. 

The tool audits the cloud accounts for misconfigurations and security risks and controls cyber threats across multiple configuration settings, thus ensuring compliance. 

With CAASM, you can continuously monitor and gain an in-depth understanding of the cloud security environment and make informed decisions. 

No. 2: Enforce Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

A SaaS organization can lose valuable data if employees’ login credentials get hacked,  phished, or guessed.

So, rather than trusting usernames and passwords to grant access to the database, deploy tools like two-factor authentication (2FA) to add a security layer to the cloud. 

2FA is an identity and access management security system that requires two identification credentials before allowing access to resources and data. 

The first login credential is the user’s password. The other credential can include the following. 

• Text with a unique one-time passcode sent to the user’s phone

• Personal security question 

• Biometrics using the user’s face, fingerprint, or retina

In short, the user should pass both security checks to access the cloud storage, application, and data. 

Combine 2FA with role-based access control to further reduce cybersecurity risks. 

Limit the data access permissions according to the team member’s role. This authentication and access management method can help businesses keep cloud security intact. 

No. 3: Monitor Cloud Activities to Detect and Prevent Threats 

Complete cloud visibility and monitoring can help SaaS organizations:

• Prevent: Proactively address threats in cloud systems.

• Detect: Recognize an attack before it turns into a data breach.

• Correct: Minimize the impact of a cloud cyberattack.

How can you achieve the goal?

Implement advanced cloud logging software. It can help businesses manage, analyze, and gain in-depth insights into cloud-based systems. 

From firewall updates and login details to data transfer, the software tracks everything under the cloud. This establishes transparency and helps the security team to detect and address suspicious activities. 

If a team member leaves the company, review their recent activities. Revoke access to cloud data and applications and delete or transfer the user account and credentials. This can help prevent data breaches. 

No. 4: Create a Cloud Data Backup Plan

Creating a cloud data backup plan is the most vital part of cloud security. 

In the event of a cyber attack, cloud backup can ensure the successful recovery of data, thereby enabling businesses to continue their daily operations. 

Sometimes, human error can also lead to data loss. So, having a cloud data backup plan is a must.

Here are a few tips to consider:

• Analyze the cloud assets that are essential for business continuity. Mark them as a priority while considering cloud backup. 

• Determine the frequency of cloud data backup – daily, monthly, or quarterly.

• Create dummy data to test and monitor your cloud backup software. For instance, create a folder by adding non-essential email drafts and random content. Delete it to find and address gaps in the data recovery system.

No. 5: Provide Cloud Security Training to Your Team 

Cybercriminals can leverage a plethora of ways to attack your cloud security.

For instance, they can send phishing emails, malicious links, or malware attachments to exploit your system.

Cloud security is a shared responsibility in an organization. New or untrained team members could put the entire data at risk.

So, train your team to operate safely in cloud environments. They should understand how to respond to suspicious activities. 

Here are a few aspects to consider while training your team.

• Social Engineering: Prepare your team to identify phishing and spamming attacks while defining security protocols in cloud environments. 

• Tools: Teach them responsible use of relevant software and tools. 

• Data: Help them understand safe ways to share company information in the cloud.

• Compliance: Train your team for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Conclusion 

Cyberattacks are rising day by day. 

So, SaaS businesses have a crucial responsibility to keep cloud environments safe. 

This includes tracking each cyber asset in the cloud to implementing tools and services aligning with data privacy rules and compliance.

Implementing the tactics and tools shared in this post can help SaaS businesses strengthen cloud security without hassles. 

So, leverage them to gain visibility across multi-cloud environments and ensure complete cloud security.